The Ballad of Wheels & Preggers
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day forty-five: "the ballad of" 1/3: Artie and Quinn from Ballad


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle. Now entering the seventh through ninth weeks, here comes cycle 3 of my gleekathon! _

_**A/N:** So mm... it's my birthday today. I was hoping if it's not too much trouble, I'd love it if you guys could go and review around on the gleekathon ficlets if you haven't already, or maybe leave ideas for future stories... It'd really mean a lot :) Thanks :D And now back to your regularly scheduled (if somewhat delayed, I apologize, big day yesterday ;)) ficlet!_

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**"The Ballad of Wheels & Preggers"  
Artie & Quinn (+ Tina/Artie, Puck/Quinn)**

The match was unexpected by both of them. In all the time they'd spent in Glee Club, they'd never really spoken… It made the prospect of this assignment intriguing, at the very least. They agreed to meet up to discuss their ballad at the end of the day, back in the rehearsal room.

Quinn was already stressed, with her father and his inviting Finn for dinner… she expected disaster. So this whole ballad deal was just not her main priority. But of all the reasons for her to go… she didn't want to let Artie down… With Rachel singing sweet nothings to Mr. Schuester because of Matt's absence, she hated to think who Artie would be stuck singing to.

Both of them arrived at the same time, standing at the door, trying to decide who would go through. Finally, Artie backed up. "Ladies first," he indicated.

"Thanks," Quinn nodded, walking in. "Are you as weirded out by this ballad thing as I am?" he asked, wheeling up to her. She turned to him, looking at him awkwardly.

"I'm not really sure I can do it," she explained. "I mean, you're a good guy, Artie… I just don't see how to…"

"Pull a Rachel Schuester?" he guessed. That made her smirk.

"Definitely not," she sat down, absently fixing her dress. Artie observed her.

"Can't really see it yet," he assured her. She looked up. He looked aside.

"Yeah… But I know it's there and…" she shrugged. "He looked back at her. "Pretty soon it won't matter… they'll see it."

"I know," he told her, hands on his wheels.

"Guess we have that in common…" Quinn looked at him. "We can't hide." He reached for his iPod, handed it to her.

"Here," he nodded. "I put some song ideas in a playlist. See if one of them is good for you," he gave her a smile, and she understood… Focusing on this, she wouldn't have to focus on the rest. That was good enough for her.

She put on the headphones, started listening her way through the playlist. She had a thoughtful look on her face, though Artie didn't know what that thought was.

The thing that had gotten hold of her mind was almost silly, but it was in her head nonetheless. All this baby business, with Finn, and Puck… Every time she thought she had it figured out, that she knew what she was supposed to do, who she was supposed to be with… It would turn on its head again, and she'd be back at the start, just as confused. Did she even have any business singing a ballad?

After a few minutes, she sighed, pulling the headphones off. "I don't know," she shrugged, handing the iPod back. "I'm sorry," she ran a hand through her hair. Artie just nodded.

"It's okay," he promised.

"What would you sing? If you had to sing this with someone you'd want to?" she tried, hoping it'd get them an answer. Artie considered this, starting down at his iPod.

Right away it wasn't the song that came to his mind, but the ideal partner he'd choose. He didn't even need to process the question before a smile and long dark hair streaked with blue settled in his mind's eye.

No matter what had happened with them, with the reveal about her stutter… or lack thereof… It wasn't going to change how he felt about her. He thought it would, at first… and in a way it had… but then he'd see her and his heart would flutter just as before.

He put on the headphones, starting to look, not at the songs he'd put in the playlist he'd shown Quinn but beyond it. Stopping on the song finally, he didn't even need to check for himself. So once again he handed over the headphones. Once Quinn had them on, he hit play.

She bowed her head a moment as the song started. At the second verse, she looked back at him… It was perfect, as much as she couldn't even admit it to herself, least of all at this present time.

She gave him a nod, pressing pause and returning the iPod. "I'll get the lyrics," Artie told her, moving off to go to the computers in the library. Quinn already knew them, but she didn't stop him.

She got up, trailing along the room in wait. She went along the back wall, dragging her fingers along the ridges. The windows above her were closed, but the quiet around her made it easy to hear what was going on outside. She could hear… guys playing around… One voice stood out… she rolled her eyes with a sigh and a smile as she looked up at the windows… It was Puck. He was out there but in her mind, too.

After Artie got to the library, he got to use the computer and print out the lyrics. He was looking them over as he got out into the hall again. He knew them, for the most part, but he liked being sure.

He stopped reading when he heard a familiar laugh from somewhere to his right. He put the sheets down in his lap as he looked to the side – Tina was talking with Mercedes, the two of them standing at Tina's locker. He looked down to the sheets in his lap, picked them up. It came over him like seeing her awakened the song in his ( ) mind, his heart.

_ Do you hear me / I'm talking to you / Across the water, across the deep blue ocean / Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying._

In the rehearsal room, Quinn ( ) took a seat, her back against the wall, her ears still drawing her up to the windows, the song taking hold of her as well.

_ Boy I hear you in my dreams / I feel your whisper across the sea / I keep you with me in my heart / You make it easier when life gets hard._

Though separated across McKinley High, Artie and Quinn were in similar enough of a mind space it was as though they were united to duet in their chosen ballad.

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend / Lucky to have been where I have been / Lucky to be coming home again / Ooh oooh oooh…_

In the rehearsal room, Quinn stood again, hugging to the wall, while outside the library, Artie kept glancing to Tina, trapped as he would be, looking at her.

_They don't know how long it takes / Waiting for a love like this / Every time we say goodbye / I wish we had one more kiss / I'll wait for you I promise you, I will._

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend / Lucky to have been where I have been / Lucky to be coming home again / Lucky we're in love every way / Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed / Lucky to be coming home someday._

Artie had to move away, back toward the rehearsal room, or Tina would catch him and then… so with one last glance, he turned his chair and moved along.

_ And so I'm sailing through the sea / To an island where we'll meet / You'll hear the music fill the air / I'll put a flower in your hair._

In the rehearsal room, Quinn turned aside, resting her head to the wall with a sigh… He was still out there.

_ Though the breezes through trees / Move so pretty you're all I see / As the world keeps spinning round / You hold me right here right now._

_I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend / Lucky to have been where I have been / Lucky to be coming home again / I'm lucky we're in love in every way / Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed / Lucky to be coming home some day._

_Oooh Ooooh Oooh…_

The song quieted away in their minds when Artie returned into the room, though it still echoed there. They shared a look, both having seen the pensive look still lingering on their faces. Their eyes shifted away, as Quinn moved away from the wall, and Artie went to get his guitar. Quinn took a seat.

"Ready?" Artie asked.

"Ready."

THE END


End file.
